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I repaired a 3 yr old ao smith today. Cleaned the burner compartment/flame arrestor nd installed the new burner assembly the homeowner ordered from ao smith and had at the home waiting. My service was 150 and the part cost her 50 delivered. So for 200.00 she has hot water vs 850 for replacement.....she had 200.00 but not 850.......cold showers suck. Have a great night.

At 11 years I don't offer to repair water heaters for the benefit of the customers since they are spending hard earned money with me for a resolution.

By the time I go through the effort of starting to replace components, the same amount of money is spent in replacement, in which replacement offers a warranty.

The opposite design does not.

Dunbars right...due to lack of water quality after 10 years repairing the water heater is on its last leg...I will give one repair but advise its time to start saving for replacement...and then of course water softener is a must....

Poor Planning On Your Part Does Not Constitute An Emergency On My Part!! You can fire me...but you can't tell me what to do!Derek

Really good clip. However that really depends on the quality of the water you have. I have seen tons of tanks not needing replacement till 20 years, then moved where i am now and they were lucky to last 10 years. The difference was the municipal h2o treatment. And I believe that if you read manufacturers literature , they all want you to flush your tank on a yearly basis. Guaranteed that tank in the clip did not get that kind of service.

The problem here seems to be thathermostat does not turn on the burner thoughot water has been drawn and incoming water has dropped the tank water temperature.
(I showed her how to manually get the burner to come on until she can afford to do something.)

Mother's water heater lasted from 1976 to 2003 when a tiny spritz started. (When she boughthe house in 1994, I flushed it about every 2 months by fully opening the hose bib - if you call that flushing.)

What does a temperature controller cost for this AOSmith?

The exterior is clean and burner compartment clean.
Looks new but she has owned the house since 2007. Previous ownersaid nothing about having replaced it.

If I turn off her water and remove the anode, will that tell me anything?
But I am not a plumber, so I'd have to report findings to you.

Since she is the only occupant, is it better to replace it with a 40-gallon tank which is used harder?

On my advice to save gas, she has kepthe temperature below [A] and adds little cold water to take a shower. (She uses the dishwasher heat water feature.)

I repaired a 3 yr old ao smith today. Cleaned the burner compartment/flame arrestor nd installed the new burner assembly the homeowner ordered from ao smith and had at the home waiting. My service was 150 and the part cost her 50 delivered. So for 200.00 she has hot water vs 850 for replacement.....she had 200.00 but not 850.......cold showers suck. Have a great night.

Hey Master. shouldn't the job have been 150.00? The parts should have been free under warranty. Unless the $50.00 bucks was for next day air.

Comment

IMO you shouldn't be working on anyones water heater but your own. If anything bad happens you will be held responsible and you dont have insurance. You could loose everything you have ever worked for...now and in the future. Think about that before you break your tools out.

IMO you shouldn't be working on anyones water heater but your own. If anything bad happens you will be held responsible and you dont have insurance. You could loose everything you have ever worked for...now and in the future. Think about that before you break your tools out.

Understood.
She has no money and I am doing this for free.
I told her that she may have to wait until she can savenough to buy a newater heater.
At least she knows how to turn it on manually if necessary.

Understood.
She has no money and I am doing this for free.
I told her that she may have to wait until she can savenough to get a newater heater.
At least she knows how to turn it manually if necessary.

I understand your helping a lady but just keep in mind that if anything happened her family would sue the pants off ya. The very people who will not help her. CYA

Sounds like it needs a new control or if your really on a budget remove the control and clean the heater out and remove the build up thats probably on the thermostat probe. Be advised tho if the heater is drained and cleaned it may leak right away or have rusty water fo-ever. Goodluck.